Our History and Mission

The late Rosemarie and Robin Russell together organized numerous concerts and events on Roosevelt Island; they wanted to encourage music education and appreciation. Robin spoke about organizing a concert series that would bring music to Roosevelt Island on a regular basis.

After Rosemarie passed away, Robin continued their mission on Roosevelt Island and founded the Island Arts Music School. He established programs with the new Roosevelt Island communities at Southtown and Octagon. He had just started Musikids, a music and dance experience class for toddlers. Music was the catalyst and the reward. Robin was the director, secretary, accountant and one of the teachers at the school. Robin died unexpectedly in February, 2007, leaving our community at a tremendous loss.

In 2007, staff and students of Island Arts Music School rallied together to hold three events: a concert in Robin’s memory, a final student recital dedicated to Robin and a holiday event presented as a gift from the musicians to the community. The audiences responded warmly with appreciation, enthusiasm, and support in remembrance of what the Russell Family brought to Roosevelt Island.

In 2008, we established The Rosemarie and Robin Russell Family Concert Series on Roosevelt Island with two spring and two fall concerts. In addition to these events, Public Outreach Performances are held during the week prior to each concert and at other times. These informal events at community centers on the Island provide residents the opportunity to learn about the music, to talk with the musicians and to hear excerpts from the concert program beforehand.

We endeavor to keep the cost of admission free to encourage widespread participation; we hope children and adults of all ages will come “dressed as they are” to the performances and enjoy the programs together.
 

Funding

As constituents of local, City and State bodies, we are currently seeking funding to enable us mainly to compensate the professionals who bring their talents to the community for the Public Outreach Performances and evening concerts. Contributions to the series are graciously accepted. Please contact us at info@rrconcerts.org for more information.

 

    organization and fundraising
    Marianne Lau

    artistic direction
    Ralph Allen
    Iris Jortner

    promotion
    Marc Diamond